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Yonatan Ariel, Executive Director of Makom, spoke engagingly and entertainingly at the General Assembly of 2011. On this panel, Yonatan plays out what Israel education must become. (Starts at 11:16)

The panel, entitled “Israel: A New Narrative”, was chaired and introduced by John Ruskay, Executive Vice-President and CEO, UJA-Federation of New York, and Yonatan Ariel shared the panel with Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America (7:52), and with Elizabeth Wolfe, Chair of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Yonatan Ariel focuses on the Hatikvah Vision: To Be A Free People In Our Land, Yehuda Kurtzer explores the latest work of the Hartman Institute in Israel engagement, and Elizabeth Wolfe speaks of the experiences of Toronto in working with us (26:00).

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The Philosophers’ Retreat (2003) was an attempt to capture and make widely available an assessment of the state of the field of Israel engagement. This document has been used in schools, synagogues and in leadership training programs.

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Jewish Travel to Israel has a long and potent history. “Windy Places” makes the case for a burst of creativity to be brought to bear on the field to ensure that the itineraries and experiences are appropriate for both Israel and Jewish identity as they have emerged in today’s complex world. This article appeared in “MASA – Time for a Journey” (JAFI 2006).

“From Herzl to Herzliya” seeks to analyze the need for a new direction in Israel Education. It suggests that there is a profound shift in the Jewish People’s circumstances brought about by some remarkable successes in the last two generations. It argues that Israel education should be built as a sub-field of Jewish education, with significant possibilities for engagement that we have yet to explore.

Hugging and Wrestling advocates for the value of criticism in a committed relationship between the Diaspora and Israel, and suggests educational strategies to accompany this alternative paradigm. In particular we draw attention to the riches of Israeli arts, whose multi-dimensional form allows for inspiration as well as critique.

Creativity in Coalition suggests that to build momentum for change in Israel education requires bringing diverse people with varied strengths together. It advocates the kinds of skills and attributes useful for the coalition to succeed and highlights the emotional challenge of change in this arena. This presentation was originally given at a MAKOM network meeting.

“Sleeping with One Eye Open” traces the development of Jewish independence and assesses the challenges that still face sovereign Israel. One might view those challenges as a curse, but this article asserts that they may carry much of the meaning of Zionism, as a collective act of responsibility. The article appeared in the October 2007 Zeek magazine.